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Although many studies highlighted the potential of COVID-19 to reshape existing models of wildlife management, empirical research on this topic has been scarce, particularly in Europe. We investigated the potential of COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate the ongoing decline in an aging population of recreational hunters in Italy. Namely, we modelled spatiotemporal trends between 2011 and 2021 in the number of recreational hunters in 50 Italian provinces with a varying incidence of COVID-19, and temporally delayed waves of infection. Compared to projections from 2011–2019 data, we detected a lower number of hunters who enrolled for the hunting season, both in 2020 (14 provinces) and in 2021 (15 provinces). The provinces with the highest incidence of COVID-19 in the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions were also those experiencing the most marked decrease in hunting participation. Our findings revealed that a wildlife management system based on recreational hunting can be rapidly destabilized by epidemics and their associated public health measures, particularly when the average age of hunters is high, like in Italy. Considered the high incidence attained by COVID-19 in many European countries, where hunters are pivotal for the management of large ungulates and where they were already declining before the pandemic, our findings call for further large-scale research about the impact of COVID-19 on hunting participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current, rapid urbanisation process impacts global biodiversity and can be a driver for phenotypic changes in mammals that persist in cities. Animals display different response strategies in urban environments compared to natural areas, but patterns may differ among species. To better comprehend this process, we focused on a limited number of species that are present in many urban green spaces around the globe.The aim of this systematic review is to investigate which response strategies chipmunks, arboreal and flying squirrels use to cope with urban environments, exploring whether there are general response patterns, and to reveal potential adaptations to life in urban areas. We included studies that compared trait differences among conspecifics living in different areas along an urbanisation gradient (rural–urban) and studies comparing individuals or populations between urban areas with different environmental characteristics.The effects of urbanisation on chipmunks, arboreal and flying squirrels, at the individual and at the population levels, were identified in nine topics. Included articles explored at least one of these topics and their key findings were described.Effects of urbanisation are evident in all considered topics. However, we found contrasting patterns between species or even among individuals of the same species studied in different geographical areas. Overall, we reported two knowledge gaps: some phenotypic traits were considered in few studies, and many species, especially those living in the Global South, where urban growth rate is higher, have not been studied.This systematic review suggests that urbanisation can be an important driver for adaptation in small mammals, underlining the complexity and differentiation of response patterns. Since target species have important ecological and social roles, additional comparative studies, increasing our understanding of processes that determine their presence in cities, are essential for urban green planning which aims to conserve biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In the last decades, a significant recovery and natural expansion of the wolf (Canis lupus) populations has occurred across Europe. This remarkable recolonisation was made possible by the high plasticity of the species, which was crucial in such a human-altered environment. Despite re-establishing within their former distribution range, understanding the behavioural responses adopted by this large carnivore to navigate in an increasingly anthropogenic world remains challenging. In this study, we investigated the movement ecology of three rehabilitated wolves in one of the most human-dominated landscapes of Europe, the Po Plain in Northern Italy, and obtained preliminary evidence of the ability of wolves to spatio-temporally segregate from human activities. We observed that (i) when wolves settled, they made considerably longer daily movements; (ii) when dispersing, wolves were more nocturnal in order to avoid encounters with humans; (iii) long-distance movements were aided by the availability of small-wooded patches used as resting areas. Our results provide important insight into the movement patterns of wolves in anthropogenic ecosystems, which may be used to inform future management actions that aim to facilitate wolf dispersal and settlement in human-dominated landscapes and to reduce human–wolf encounters, with the goal of promoting coexistence. Assessing the behavioural responses of floating wolves to human presence is crucial for investigating the chance of wolf populations expanding into urbanised landscapes. We studied the movement ecology of three rehabilitated wolves in a highly human-dominated landscape (Po Plain, Italy) to explore wolf's plasticity amid widespread human pressure. To reach this aim, we estimated individual 95% utilisation distributions (UD) after the release and inspected both 95% UDs and net squared displacements to identify individual movement patterns; tested for differences in movement patterns during day and night; and analysed the selection of resting sites during dispersal movement in a highly human-altered environment. Both the 95% UDs and step lengths were smaller for wolves settling in suitable areas than for those settling in more urbanised areas. All wolves exhibited strong temporal segregation with humans during all movement phases, particularly while dispersing across highly urbanised areas. Main roads and proximity to built-up areas were shown to limit wolves' dispersal, whereas small-wooded patches that provide shelter during rest facilitated long-distance movements. This study provides important insights into wolf movement and settling in urban and peri-urban areas, providing critical knowledge to promote human–carnivore coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge on ecological requirements of species is a focal point for their conservation, especially if they live in threatened habitat types such as old-growth forests., We predict that habitat requirements shape the spatial niche partition of two sibling species of saproxylic beetles Gnorimus nobilis and Gnorimus variabilis., To test our hypothesis, we conducted a comparative study on the presence and abundance of these chafer beetles in northern Apennines using air-trapping, exploring the effects of altitude and habitat type., We performed our analyses in a study area of 268 800 ha, where we detected nine patches of putatively suitable habitat (13 347 ha), setting a total of 82 air-traps., We collected an unexpected high number of specimens of both species, and found that G. nobilis and G. variabilis are rarely syntopic, having different ecological preferences influenced primarily by altitude, but also by forest type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]